We probably don’t need to tell you this — in fact, you probably wish we wouldn’t remind you — but there seems to be pretty broad agreement from pretty much every corner that we’re either about to enter a recession or, at best, narrowly avoid one. In either case, it may be bad but […]

We humans have an uneasy relationship with perfection. We strive for it — but we’re not always sure we want it. If something is close to perfect, it seems suspiciously smooth or, as commentators invariably say when an athlete or performer is at doing the best possible work, “he/she makes it look easy.” Of […]

A couple of weeks back we talked about designers going to great lengths to make high-tech products resemble obsolete products of the past. It was just one more of several posts we’ve done, and may well continue to do, on the divide between the technically inclined cognoscenti and, well, everyone else.
Today, however, we […]

Okay, so in the last week we have had two news stories dealing with new materials that are incomprehensibly thin.
First, there is the breakthrough (also covered on NPR) about a new fabric that is by far the blackest material on earth, absorbing almost all light. This material is composed of nanotubes that are, […]

Now that another CES is behind us all, it’s time to reflect if maybe, just maybe, there’s more to life than just an ever thinner television screens, insanely elaborate booths, and strange sounding products — not that’s there’s anything wrong with that. And, while we’re mindful of all the strong criticism of the event […]